Duplex receptacle with formed wire contacts



July 4, 1961 H. HUBBELL ETAL DUPLEX RECEPTACLE WITH FORMED WIRE CONTACTS Filed June 19, 1956 (Iii zzyz 22 a INV NTORS my 32 W23 EELEI I BY s4 74 9 Q F1911. 22M

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United States Patent M 2,991,443 DUPLEX RECEPTACLE WITH FORMED WIRE CONTACTS Harvey Hubbell, Fairfield, and Joseph F. Healy, Westport, Conn., assignors to Harvey Hubbell, Incorporated, Bridgeport, Conm, a corporation of Connecticut Filed June 19, '1956, Ser. No. 592,298

Claims. (Cl.'339-164) This invention relates to electrical wiring devices, and particularly to a duplex outlet receptacle; and has for an object to provide an improved construction for such a device which will be greatly simplified over the usual construction and in which the receptacle contacts and the bridge or yoke for mounting the receptacle may be constructed of swaged Wire.

It is also an object to provide a construction including means for connecting the conductor wires to the spring contacts including binding screws which are so mounted and constructed as to be stationary, and will prevent side wiring by winding the wire around the screw under its head, thereforerequiring back wiring for the device.

Another object is to provide a construction in which the screws for mounting the receptacle in a wall outlet box may be first mounted in the box, and then the re ceptacle may be inserted in the box in a partially turned position and turned from this to the normal position for mounting the device on the screws.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, we have devised the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawing froming a part of this specification. It is, however, to be understood the invention is not limited to the specific details of construction and arrangement shown, but mayembodyvarious changes and modifications within the scope of the invention.

In this drawing:

FIG. 1 is a front viewsh'owing how the device is mounted in a wall outlet box;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the bottom section of the housing or insulating body with the upper section removed;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the upper section of the 2 housing or body;

FIG. 4 is a transverse section of the receptacle substantially on line 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a transverse section through the receptacle substantially on the plane of line 55 of FIG. 2 but with thetop section of the housing in place;

FIG. 6 is a partial longitudinal section and partial side view; l

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the yoke or bridge for mounting the receptacle in the wall box;

FIG. 8 is an edge view thereof looking from the right in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is an edge view of one of the spring contacts;

FIG. 10 is a side view thereof looking toward the bottom of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a transverse section of this contact substantially on line 11'-11 of FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is an edge view of the clamping nut for the lead wire;

FIG. 13 is a front view thereof;

FIG. 14 is an edge view looking from the right of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a top end view of the binding screw, and

FIG. 16 is a side view thereof.

The receptacle 1 is shown in FIG. I mounted in the conventional type of sheet metal wall box 2 to which the lead 'wires (not shown) are led from the house wiring system and connected tothe contacts within the receptacle. The receptacle is mounted in the box on screws 3 2,991,441? Patented July 4, 1961 2 mounted in the inwardly extending lugs or ears 4 on the end walls 5 of the box.

This improved form of receptacle comprises a body or housing 6 of suitable molded insulating material, such, for example, as Bakelite or similar material, and is made in two sections comprising a top section 7 and a bottom section 8 secured together'by suitable screws 9, in this case passing through the lower section 8 and threaded into the upper section, either directly or by a suitable insert molded in the insulating material. The lower section is recessedin its top wall atthe opposite ends thereof, as shown at 8a and 8b, and the top section has corresponding ribs 7a and 7b seated in these recesses to thus retain the two sections in proper alignment.

The lower section 8is providedwith two pairs of longitudinally spaced chambers 10 and also lateral-1y spaced and separated by the intermediate wall 11, and in these chambers are mounted the spring contacts 12 to be engaged bythe blade contacts of attachment plug caps (not shown) inserted through spaced entrance slots 13 and 14 in the bosses 7c of the top section 7 and leading to these chambers'in alignmentwith the contacts.

These spring contacts are made from swaged wire, that is, from a round wire of, for example, hard brass, and are flattened by swaging to increase their width and also provide wider spring contacts 12 at their opposite ends, the wire at its ends being compressed to less thickness to form these contacts than the central connecting portion 15. These central portions, although left of greater thickness than the spring contact portions 12, are swaged or flattened from the opposite" sides to form the portion 15 of oblong cross sectionjwhich is substantially flat on its opposite sides, with rounded edges. The spring contact end portions 12 are flattened to a less thickness as previously indicated, andtherefore are wider than the connecting portion 15 to provide a greater surface to engage the blade contacts and also permit them to yield as the blades are-inserted; and thepedges facing the slots 13 and 14 are curved laterally, as indicated at 16, to guide the blades to one side of these contacts, and also to have a camming action with the ends of the blades to shift the contacts 12 laterally. to'increase the pressure of the contacts against the blades to secure more efiective electrical contact between them. 'Ihesespring contacts are positioned in alignment with slots-13 and 14 and prevented from springing back too far by ribs 10a on the side walls of chambers 10 and forming abutments for the ends of the contacts. These contact members may also be provided with laterally pressed bumps or lugs '17 to enter the openings usually provided in the contact blades of the cap to resist removal of the cap from the receptacle and decrease the liability of accidental separation of the, cap from the receptacle. The connecting portion 15 is offset laterally, as indicated at '18, at its opposite ends adjacent its connection to the contacts 12, with the intermediate offset portion 19 seated in channels 20 in the cross or dividing walls 21 between the chambers, 10 and an intermediate recess 22in which is mounted a clamping nut 23 for connecting the bared ends 24 of the insulated conductor wires 25 from the house wiring system to the connecting portions 15 of the receptacle contacts. Corresponding walls 21a and recess 22a are formed on the under side of thetop section 7 and in alignment with 21 and 22 on the lower section. These channels 20 are substantially the same width as the thickness of the oifset portions 19 and therefore properly position these contact members and properly position the springcontacts 12 in the chambers 10 backwardly of the slots 13 and 14. The connecting portion 15 is laterally curved or offset as shown at 26 for passage of the threaded shank 27 of the binding screws 28.,

These screws have a slotted head 29 and include an enlarged flange 30 at the under side of this head, and between the head and the threaded shank 27; The outer end wall of the recesses 22 and 22a are further recessed as indicated at 31 and 31a to receivc, this flange b tween the outerside or bottom'of the which provide an inwardly facing shoulder, and't e conneoting portion of the contacts to thusholdfthiej screwagainst longitudinal movement, the threaded shank passing through the offset recess 26 and threadedintothe il t 2am the recesses at the opposite side of }the ntefriiediate. connection portion 15. This nutfas shown 'rnore specifically in FIGS. 12 to 14, is a substantiallyrctangulanplate curved longitudinally, as indioatedidFlGlJlfl, l upper and lower edges, as 1 sides of the threaded opening ends are also bumped inwardly p o I v p concave side of thenut just ontwar dl y, o thefnotches 32. This nut is mounted inthe 2,2 fand'ggvqjwith its concave side facing outwardlyfoverftheoffsetpoi' ion.19 of the contacts, and the rear wall'jofi'the l t of the body is provided with inlet ,0penings35 malignment with the notches 32 for insertion or the bared ends 24 of the lead wires between the'nut 2 3, and the offset portion 19 of the contacts. "When the nutis retracted inwardly by loosening the screw 28, after one or more wires have been inserted, it or they may be clamped against the connecting portions 19 by tightening up on the screw, which draws thenut toward this portion and clamps the inner edges of the notches 32 against the lead wire to provide a tight, effective grip on the wire and clamp it against the portion 19 to effect a good electrical connection between them. The wire is held against lateral movement out of alignment with these notches during this operation by the opposite sides of the shank of the screw and the lugs 34 at the outer sides of these notches. The nut is held against turning by its ends cooperating with the side walls of recesses z2 224, It will be noted that as the flange 30 of the screw is located between the connecting portion 19 and the bottom of the recesses 31 and 3111, the screw is held stationary against longitudinal movement and the nut is the only member that is shifted during this operation. Also because of this flange 30 there is no space at the under side of the head of the screw to permit winding of the wire about the shank of the screw, as is common inmaking the connection by the ordinary binding post screw. head ofthe screw is exposed at the side of the body member through a recess 36 in this wall, one half in each section 7 and 8, to permit manipulation of the screw by suitable means such as the: usual screw driver. "ltfwill be understood that the recesses 22, 31 and 36 open through the top wall of the lower housing section 8 and in alignment with similar recesses 22a, 31a, and 36a in the under side of the top section to permit insertion ofthe screws and the clamping nut 23. l

The housing or body withthe contacts mounted therein is mounted in the wall box 2 by a yoke of bridge 37 extending longitudinally of the housing and located between the upper and lower sections 7' and 8. This bridge is also made from a piece of round wire swaged to a flat or oval shaped cross section at its opposite ends 38, this section having flat surfaces at its opposite sides with rounded edges as it is swaged from a round wire. The intermediate. portion between these flattened ends is preferably left in its round original cross sectionbut has an intermediate portion 39 offset laterally from the end portions as indicated at 40, leaving a connecting portion 41 between the offsets and the flattened end portions. The flattened end portions 38 comprise substantially Li -shaped outer end portions 42 with a slot or recess 43, opening through one side, and a shorter but oppositely. facing substantially J-shaped portion 44 connecting the inner leg of this outer U-shaped portion with the end of the, intermediate portion 41. This outer end thus forms a hook, opening latl at s s a f th ..br s. h sh ma behpak ee in G ssame i e. to.

over the shanks of the mounting screws 3 in the lugs 4 of the wall box to thus mount the receptacle in this box. The open sides of these hooks face in opposite directions. In mounting this bridge in the housing of the receptacle the connecting portions 41 and the inner portion 44 of the flattened end is seated in a channel 43 with at offset 46 in the lower surface of thetop housing member 7, and the intermediate or central oflset portion,39 is seated in a channel 47 in the top of the longitudinal intermediate wall 11 of the lower section 8 of the housing, there being a lateral curved offset 48 in one side of this channel at the center of the housing to receive a similar offset 49 in the central portion 39 of the bridge. This construction and arrangement effectively and properly positions and rigidly secures the bridge in the housing, and in the channel 47 at the inner side of the offset 48 is provided a socket 50 to receive the shank of the screw 52 passing through an opening in the front wall of the top section 7 and having a threaded shank engaging screw threads 51 pressed in the inner or concave side of the offset 49, the screw being supported on its opposite side by the walls of the recess 50. This screw is for fastening the usual face plate or cover plate (not shown) of either metal or plastic material, used to cover the open side of the wall box after the receptacle has been mounted therein.

With this construction of mounting the bridge or yoke it is not necessary to remove the screws 3 in mounting the receptacle in the wall box. As indicated by the broken lines in FIG. 1, the receptacle may be placed in the box tilted or turned counterclockwise to permit passage of the hooked end portions 42 by the heads of the screws 3, and then this receptacle may be turned clockwise to pass, these hooked portions behind the heads of the screws and between these heads and the ears or lugs 4 on the wall box, as indicated in full lines. The shank 3a of the screw enters the recess 43 of the hooked end by this movement and after shifting to this position, the screws 3 may be easily and quickly tightened to clamp the hooked ends 42 between the heads of the screws and the ears 4. The receptacle may be as easily dismounted or removed from the wall box without the necessity of removing thescrews 3, by merely releasing the screws a short distance and then swinging the receptacle counterclockwise to the broken line position to release the hooked ends from the screws, after which it may be readily removed from the wall box.

It will be seen from the above that this provides a receptacle and means of mounting it which is of very simple construction but still provides an effective construction for both the receptacle contact and lead wire connecting means, as well as a novel means for mounting the receptacle in the wall box. Both contacts and the mounting yoke or bridge may be made from round metal wire of the desired size by merely bending and swaging to the proper shape. The lead wires are easily and quickly clamped to or connected with the receptacle contacts by merely inserting them in openings in the back wall of the body and then setting up the binding screws, without requiring the winding of these wires about the shanks of the screws.

The means for mounting the receptacle in a wall box is claimed in our copending divisional application Serial No. 725,060, filed March 31, 1958, Wire Bridge for Mounting Electrical Wiring Dev-ices.

Having thus set forth the nature of our invention, we claim:

1. An electric receptacle including a body housing comprising top and bottom members of insulating material, said bottom member provided with longitudinally. spaced chambers and the top member provided with contact blade entrance slots leading to said chambers, said housing having an opening in its side wall between the chambers provided with an inwardly facing shoulder, a contact member including spring contacts at its, opposite ends in the chambers and a connecting intermediate conductor Portion l t d i wa d ptsa dh paninsh s q tamsdiatsrani prising a screw having a head including a flange at the outer side of said intermediate port-ion and a clamping nut on the screw located on the inner side of said intermediate portion and mounted so as to be incapable of rotating, said flange being located between said inwardly facing shoulder and said intermediate portion of the contact member and held thereby to prevent longitudinal movement of the screw whereby on rotation of said screw said nut moves axially relative to the screw toward or away from said intermediate portion, the bottom member provided with at least one entrance opening in its bottom wall for insertion of a lead wire between the nut and said intermediate portion, and the screw head provided with means accessible through the side wall opening for operating the screw to clamp the wire between the nut and said intermediate portion.

2. An electric receptacle comprising a body housing of insulating material having longitudinally spaced chambers and contact blade entrance slots in its front wall leading to said chambers, said housing having an opening in its side wall between the chambers provided with an inwardly facing shoulder, a contact member including spring contacts at its opposite ends in the chambers and a connecting intermediate conductor portion located inwardly of said shoulder, means for connecting a conductor wire to said intermediate portion including a screw provided with a slotted head in the opening and a flange located between said shoulder and the outer side of said portion and cooperating with said shoulder and intermediate portion to hold the screw against longitudinal movement, a nut threaded on the screw at the inner side of said portion and mounted so as to be incapable of rotating whereby on rotation of said screw said nut moves axially relative to said screw toward or away from said intermediate portion, and the bottom wall of the housing provided with entrance openings for insertion of lead wires between the nut and said intermediate portion of the contact member for clamping to this member by the nut by manipulation of the screw.

3. An electric receptacle according to claim 2 in which the nut is a longitudinally curved plate with transverse notches in its upper and lower edges, and the nut is arranged with its concave side facing the intermediate portion of the contact member and the notches in alignment with the entrance openings for the conductor wires to receive the wires inserted in these openings and clamp them against the intermediate portion of the contact member.

4. An electric receptacle comprising: a housing of insulating material; said housing having longitudinally spaced chambers and contact blade entrance slots in its front wall leading to said chambers; said housing also having a longitudinal channel extending between said chambers; a contact member formed of round metal wire and having flattened end portions providing yieldable contacts and a flattened intermediate portion of oblong cross section between and connecting said contacts; said intermediate portion having a lateral ofiset provided with an open-sided recess in the plane of said offset; said contact member mounted in said housing with said contacts located in said chambers and said offset seated in said channel; and means for electrically connecting a conductor lead wire to said contact member comprising a binding screw and a clamping nut; said binding screw mounted in said housing so as to have its head on the outer side of said offset and accessible from the exterior of said housing and its shank extending through said recess; said clamping nut being secured to said shank on the inner side of said offset and mounted so as to be incapable of rotating, whereby a conductor lead wire may be clamped to and electrically connected to said contact member.

5. An electric receptacle comprising a body housing of insulating material having longitudinally spaced chambers and contact entrance slots in its front wall leading to said chambers, said housing having an opening in its side wall between the chambers provided with an inwardly facing shoulder, a contact member including spring contacts at its opposite ends in the chambers and a connecting intermediate conductor portion located inwardly of said shoulder, said intermediate portion including an open-sided recess, means for connecting a conductor Wire to said intermediate portion including a screw provided with a slotted head in the opening and a flange located between said shoulder and the outer side of said intermediate portion and cooperating with said shoulder and intermediate portion to hold the screw against longitudinal movement, said screw having a portion that extends in and through said recess, a nut threaded on the screw at the inner side of said intermediate portion, and the bottom wall of the housing provided with entrance openings for insertion of lead wires between the nut and said intermediate portion of the contact member for clamping to this member by the nut by manipulation of the screw.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,352,034 Sherman Sept. 7, 1920 1,719,363 Gaynor July 2, 1929 2,126,043 Rentler Aug. 9, 1938 2,216,740 Hubbell Oct. 8, 1940 2,231,916 Jackson Feb. 18, 1941 2,246,457 Schultz June 7, 1941 2,315,523 Hubbell Apr. 6, 1943 2,498,642 Bellek Feb. 28, 1950 2,549,357 Angelone Apr. 17, 1951 2,705,785 Benander Apr. 5, 1955 2,855,579 Wintriss Oct. 7, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 262,052 Switzerland Sept. 16, 1949 

